San Jacinto River (California)

The San Jacinto River is a 42-mile-long (68 km)[4] river in Riverside County, California. The river's headwaters are in Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument.[5] The lower portion of the 765-square-mile (1,980 km2) watershed is urban and agricultural land. As a partially endorheic watershed that is contiguous with other Great Basin watersheds, the western side of the San Jacinto Basin is a portion of the Great Basin Divide.

San Jacinto River
The mouth of the San Jacinto on Lake Elsinore, viewed from California State Route 74 (the Ortega Highway) on the southwest side of the lake
Map of the Santa Ana River watershed with the San Jacinto subbasin highlighted in yellow.
Location
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
RegionRiverside County
CitiesHemet, San Jacinto, Perris, Lake Elsinore
Physical characteristics
SourceSan Jacinto Mountains
 • locationSan Bernardino National Forest, Riverside County
 • coordinates33°43′52″N 116°48′36″W[1]
 • elevation2,100 ft (640 m)
MouthLake Elsinore
 • location
Lake Elsinore, at the mouth of Railroad Canyon, northwest of the Sedco Hills and west of the Tuscany Hills of the Temescal Mountains, Riverside County
 • coordinates
33°38′45.06″N 117°18′53.42″W
 • elevation
1,243 ft (379 m)
Length42 mi (68 km), Northwest then southwest
Basin size780 sq mi (2,000 km2)[2]
Discharge 
 • average16.4 cu ft/s (0.46 m3/s)[3]
 • minimum0 cu ft/s (0 m3/s)
 • maximum16,000 cu ft/s (450 m3/s)
Basin features
River systemSanta Ana River basin
Tributaries 
 • leftSouth Fork San Jacinto River
 • rightNorth Fork San Jacinto River

Course

The river is formed at the west base of the San Jacinto Mountains by the confluence of its North and South forks. The South Fork flows from near Santa Rosa Summit, through Pine Meadow and Garner Valley to Lake Hemet, which holds 14,000 acre feet (17,000,000 m3) of water. Hemet Dam was built in 1895 to supply water to the city of Hemet. Downstream of the dam, the South Fork joins the North Fork east of the town of Valle Vista near Highway 74, and the main stem of the San Jacinto River continues northwest until it discharges into Mystic Lake, a couple of miles east of Lake Perris. Overflow from the river then flows southwest, passing under Ramona Expressway and Interstate 215, and through Railroad Canyon to Railroad Canyon Reservoir, also called Canyon Lake, which has a capacity of 11,900 acre feet (14,700,000 m3). Downstream of Railroad Canyon Dam, the river continues flowing roughly west southwest through the canyon through the Temescal Mountains for about 3 miles (4.8 km) until it drains into Lake Elsinore. The lake usually has no outflow other than evaporation, but in years of heavy rainfall it overflows into Temescal Creek, which flows northwest to the Santa Ana River in Corona, California.

List of tributaries of the San Jacinto River

References
  1. "San Jacinto River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. 1981-01-19. Retrieved 2010-11-22.
  2. "San Jacinto River Watershed: Geographic Setting". Lake Elsinore and Canyon Lake Task Force. Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority. Archived from the original on 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2010-11-22.
  3. "USGS Gage #11070500 on the San Jacinto River near Elsinore, CA" (PDF). National Water Information System. U.S. Geological Survey. 1916–2009. Retrieved 2010-11-22.
  4. U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed March 16, 2011
  5. McDonnell, Lawrence R. (1970). Rivers of California. San Francisco, California: Pacific Gas and Electric Company. p. 43.
  6. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Cottonwood Canyon
  7. USGS Mouth: 33°40′42″N 117°14′07″W
  8. City of Menifee General Plan Draft EIR, City of Menifee, The Planning Center, DC&E, September 2013, Page 5.9-1 Environmental Setting; Local Surface Waters and Drainage; Salt Creek
  9. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Perris Valley Storm Drain
  10. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Bautista Creek
  11. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Indian Creek
  12. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: North Fork San Jacinto River
  13. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Logan Creek
  14. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Stone Creek
  15. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Black Mountain Creek
  16. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Fuller Mill Creek
  17. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: South Fork San Jacinto River
  18. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Dry Creek
  19. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Strawberry Creek
  20. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Coldwater Creek
  21. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Spillway Canyon
  22. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Herkey Creek
  23. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Fobes Canyon
  24. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Pipe Creek
  25. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Martinez Creek
  26. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Gold Shot Creek
  27. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Penrod Canyon
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